You Said We Were Friends
by Yonderly
Summary: An exploration of Abed and Annie's evolving relationship from Season 1 to Season 3. Abed/Annie.
1. Chapter 1

_I want to thank everyone who reviewed my last fic. I was so overwhelmed by the positive response that I had to write more for this fandom. This will be a multi-chapter fic based on the episodes of Community that I want to explore deeper in relation to the Abed/Annie relationship. Friendship fic in the early chapters, might get romantic later. Please enjoy._

_You Said We Were Friends_

* * *

"Ummm, excuse me. Hi there."

Abed turned at the soft girlish voice and found himself face-to-face with a petite brunette. She was pretty, he concluded quickly, probably an eight on the traditional scale of female hotness despite the wrinkle in her brow and the fine lines that hyphenated her mouth as she frowned. He cocked his head to the side; she might be a nine if she smiled.

"Hi, Annie right. You're in my Spanish class. Front row, middle seat, one pink pen, and three #2 pencils. You were the one that asked all the questions about the syllabus." Abed tapped his fingers as he counted off the facts he noted about her character during their first class.

Color rose quickly from the top of her chest to her face as Annie blushed furiously under his comments and her frown deepened. "Yes I did," she said with a hint of defiance in her tone, almost like a challenge. She took a little breath and Abed could practically see her attempting to regain control of the conversation. He couldn't help but find her tightly wound, neurotic demeanor interesting, reminding him of Claire from "The Breakfast Club" or Monica from "Friends". "I saw you talking to Troy Barnes just now? Was it something about Spanish class or a club or something?" She squeaked out the last bit, her pitch climbing higher and higher as she spoke.

"Oh that?" Abed said blankly as he jerked his thumb behind him where Troy had just walked off. "I was inviting him to join a Spanish study group," he paused, "he's gonna be our Emilio Estevez."

"I don't understand what that means," Annie bounced back with a confused shake of her head.

"It's from the movie 'The Breakfast Club'," he answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I want the best dynamics possible in the group in order to maximize interest and the possibility for shenanigans and hijinks, 'The Breakfast Club' is one of the films I am modeling for the group. Troy will function as the dumb jock with a heart of gold, like Emilio Estevez's character Andy."

"Oh," she said softly, sounding a bit put out. "Either way," she reasserted herself, "why wasn't I asked to join your little group? I had a 4.0 grade point average in high school and I was the only one who actually read the assigned reading and it isn't very nice to have a secret study group and you shouldn't just invite people out in the middle of the hallway where anyone can see and get their feelings hurt and-and," Annie tapered off as she lost track of her rant, her blush returning with a vengeance. Taking another deep breath, which Abed was beginning to see as one of her character markers, she met his gaze firmly. "I would like to join your study group.

Abed shook his head firmly. "I already have all the people I need for the group and you didn't reach the standards I had created. I haven't calculated you into the dynamic and to try to integrate you now seems too unpredictable. He had spent the last few hours coming up with the perfect list of people to join the study group based on personality, age, perceived religious and political affiliations, and their high levels of emotional distress in order to create compelling drama; adding another person would be completely off-book and totally unacceptable. Abed returned his focus to Annie, realizing from the expression on her face that he had quite obviously offended her. "I've offended you."

Annie's eyes narrowed. "Yes you've offended me! And you know what? I don't want to be in you're stupid study group anyway." Her eyes glossed over with, what he could only assume were, unshed tears and her eyes fluttered slightly. "I thought college was going to be different but you are just like all those girls back in high school who decided that I wasn't _cool enough_ to join their little groups. Poor little Annie is too crazy to be friends with, better stay away from her! Her voice taking on a sing-song quality as she mimicked her former classmates. "Well you know what? I am not that girl anymore! I am not going to cry in the bathroom stall. I am going to start my own Spanish study group and it will be so much better than yours!" She finished her rant with a little twist of her tightly clenched fist, her breathing rate accelerated and her face flushed.

Abed stared at her for a moment, not quite sure what to do with all the information he had just received. She definitely had high levels of emotional drama, he thought to himself. She is at the right age, they definitely couldn't have another member in their thirties. Pretty enough to add sexual tension to the group, but not too pretty to distract from the overall dynamic. But most importantly, Abed realized, she was interesting. Way more interesting than he had initially thought, which in and of itself was a startling realization; he was usually spot-on when it came to first impressions. When he saw her in class he had noted her obvious attractiveness and her driven, almost perfectionist demeanor and assumed that she was more of a Stepford type, not really suited to what he wanted the group to be. But now, he saw something more.

"You should join our study group," he decided out loud.

The scrunchiness of Annie's face immediately melted into shocked blankness at his words. "What?

"You should join," Abed repeated. "You are a far more compelling character than the other girl I had lined up."

"Is that a compliment?" She asked cautiously.

"No."

"Really though. You want me to join? Cause I don't want to if you just feel bad for me; I don't need your pity," she replied vehemently.

"I don't feel bad for you," he said as he picked up his bag from the floor. "I've just decided that you one of the most interesting people in our class."

"Oh," she said, glancing down at her feet. Abed thought he might have embarrassed her but she didn't comment so he decided not to as well.

"We are meeting at the library at four."

"Okay, I'll be there." Annie nodded. "See you then." She turned, walking down the hallway at a brisk pace. Halfway down the hallway she turned and gave him a small smile.

Nodding , Abed headed off towards the cafeteria. Definitely a nine, he thought to himself.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, alerted, or faved the last chapter! I loved every single one of them so so much, you are all amazing! This story kind of starts slow, like don't expect them to start making out right away cause I want to build up to that! This chapter takes place after 1x04 Social Psychology which is the episode that made me ship Abed/Annie and is the episode were I got the title for this fic. Enjoy!_

_You Said We Were Friends_

* * *

''Don't be nervous. It's just Abed."

Annie stared at the door that loomed over her, shaking her hands lightly as they dangled down by her sides. Wobbling on the balls of her feet, she tried to psyche herself up and knock on her friend's door. A strange kind of nervousness tingled in the pit of her stomach that she couldn't quite explain. It was just Abed. Abed! He had said they were cool and Annie knew him well enough to know that he wasn't the type of guy who would lie about that sort of thing. Hell, she didn't think he was the type of guy would _could _lie about that sort of thing.

'No,' said a quiet voice in her head. "_He's_ the type of guy who would sit in a room for 26 hours for a friend." She'd never known a guy like that.

And Annie was determined to be worthy of his friendship.

Feeling more resolved, she raised her hand and gave the door three sharp knocks. She heard the sound of rustling beyond the other side of the door before it opened slowly.

"Hi Annie," Abed greeted, his head cocked slightly to the side. "Why are you here?"

Annie resisted the urge to roll her eyes; he lacked a lot of tact for such a sweet guy. Ignoring the less than enthusiastic greeting, she smiled and raised the plastic bag she had brought with her. "Hey. I thought that maybe we could marathon the first three Indiana Jones movies. I had no plans this weekend and I thought I could make up for the marathon I made you miss the other day."

Abed just stared back at her; not speaking a word. Annie felt her smile wilt under his unemotional gaze and the nervousness returned with a vengeance. "I brought snacks," she said awkwardly, jiggling her bag.

He remained still.

Feeling utterly embarrassed now, Annie broke eye contact, glancing down uncomfortably into her shopping bag filled with treats. "I didn't know what you liked so I got one of everything."

"I like Whoppers and Gummi Bears," he finally spoke, though his tone still gave her no clue as to what he thought of her showing up randomly on his doorstep.

"I've got those!" Annie replied, a little too quickly.

"Cool." Abed stoic expression smoothed out and his mouth quirked in a near approximation of a smile. Stepping back from the doorway, he gestured for her to enter.

Annie couldn't help but glance around curiously as she got her first look at Abed's dorm room, taking in as much as possible without being totally obvious. She had often wondered what her friend's private space would be like, what he would need to have around him, what kind of place he would relax in.

It looked like a ten-year-old's room.

The walls were covered in dozens of different movie posters from the early 60's to a 'Dark Knight' poster. There were various toys tucked away in a thousand places: light sabers, action figures, and-what seemed to be-a combination of random toy guns from movies and shows. Despite the general clutter though, the room was actually pretty clean. His bed was made, his desk organized, and his laundry discreetly tucked into a corner. Annie couldn't help but wonder if even the clutter had a certain kind of order that she just couldn't see.

"Nice place," she started conversationally. "It's very…uhhh…you."

"Does it?" He looked around the room curiously. "I guess that's what I was going for." He motioned for her to sit on the couch against the wall and she plopped down, settling the candies on her lap. Abed walked over to his shelf, quickly finding the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" DVD and popping it in the TV. Annie watched him quietly, still feeling entirely out of place in what was decidedly "Abed Land".

Annie scooted over as Abed approached the couch, making room for him. She offered the bag of candy and he took it eagerly, diving right for the big box of Whoppers. Annie, still totally unsure of what to do with herself, clasped her hands together over her lap and focused far more intensely than necessary on the DVD menu. She was distracted from her little staring contest when Abed he leaned over to grab the remote. Annie avoided his gaze; she really didn't want him to catch on to the fact that she didn't know how to hang out alone with him. She wanted to be a good friend. Abed deserved a good friend.

Unfortunately for her Abed was nothing if not observant. "You're uncomfortable," he stated clearly. She could feel his unashamed gaze boring holes into the side of her head and she sternly forced herself to at least fake a sense of calm.

"No," she said brightly as she shifted to face him, an easy smile on her lips. "I'm just waiting for you to start the movie. The first one's my favorite."

"I like the third the best personally," Abed said, still looking at her with a question in his eyes. "But the first is a classic." He flicked a button on the remote and the DVD menu faded away.

Annie glanced over at Abed who was already absorbed in the movie, despite the fact that Indiana Jones wasn't even on screen yet. Smiling to herself, she leaned back into the couch. "Hey Abed," she whispered. "Can I have some Whoppers?"

"Sure," he whispered back just as quietly, casually offering her the box.

She reached in and pulled out a handful of the chocolate-y candies, a sense of real calm washing over her for the first time since she had decided to come over to Abed's place.

_"The Hovitos are near. The poison is still fresh..."_

* * *

Six hours later and Annie was wishing that she had brought the movies over earlier as she realized that it was probably horribly close to midnight.

But despite the fact that she'd have to take the night bus home (which takes an extra thirty minutes), Annie couldn't help but feel totally content as she watched Indiana Jones bicker with his father. Her feet, shoeless now, were curled up into her side and just barely brushing against Abed's legs while her head rested against one of the pillows. After the initial awkwardness, at least on Annie's part, they had lapsed into a rather comfortable silence, punctuated by their occasional comments ("This is the best part" "Cool. Cool, cool, cool.") and questions ("So he just picks up a random Asian boy off the street and everyone's okay with it?").

Her eyes struggled to stay open as she watched the Joneses ride off into the sunset, too tired and too relaxed to move just yet. Her plan to be a good friend to Abed had been accomplished and filled her with a kind of happiness that she usually reserved for A's and attempts to overthrow of evil dictators.

"You know," Abed spoke suddenly, jarring her from her thoughts. "Chandler walked Phoebe down the aisle on her wedding day." His voice was unusually soft and Annie couldn't tell if it was from the words he was saying or the late hour but either way it had her immediate attention. "They also seemed to always be around each other whenever they were breaking up with people. They played hide-and-seek together and Phoebe named one of her triplets after Chandler. Phoebe was the first person to know that Chandler was a going to propose to Monica, she helped him pick out the ring." Annie glanced over at Abed who was looking at her with a surprisingly gentle expression. "They were actually pretty great friends."

Annie felt warmth burst in her stomach and wetness flood her eyes. "Awwwww," she cooed as she sat up quickly and pulled Abed into a fierce hug. "I am so glad we are friends Abed!" She felt his hands flutter around her side, obviously unsure of what to do with them, but Annie held on tightly.

She pulled back and saw that he was actually giving her a real, albeit small, smile; which quickly flickered to a frown. "You look like you are about to cry," he stated, sounding concerned.

"No, no," she said as she gently brushed her eyes. "It's just really nice what you said. I am so happy to have a real group of friends now," she told him, surprised at her own sudden burst of honesty.

"Me too," he replied. A thought must have struck him because he quickly turned and glanced at alarm clock on his desk. "It's late. You can sleep here if you don't want to take the bus."

Annie's face squished in confusion. "How do you know I take the bus?"

"Annie," Abed said as though he were explaining something completely obvious, "It's my role in the group to know everything about you guys."

"Oh," she mumbled, not entirely sure what to do with that statement. "Either way it's fine. There's a bus stop close by that should be coming," she looked down at her watch, "in eighteen minutes."

"Are you sure? You could sleep on the bottom bunk," he gestured toward the bunk bed. "I had a roommate at the beginning of the year but he requested a new room so now it's all mine." That thought made Annie suddenly very sad for Abed and very pissed at his old roommate. "Or," he continued, "you could take the couch which is surprisingly comfortable. I fall asleep on it all the time while watching TV."

"It's okay Abed, really." She felt a little uncomfortable again. Not that it was Abed's fault; he was just trying to be a good friend and she knew that to him letting her crash in his room was part of that mentality. But for some reason the idea of sleeping here seemed strange to her, almost too intimate and certainly at a level of closeness that one night of Indiana Jones couldn't produce.

"Okay," Abed acquiesced easily.

Feeling like that was her queue, Annie stood and gathered her shoes and purse. Abed, who had stood up as well, offered her the still half full bag of candy. She shook her head. "You can have it, I wouldn't eat it."

"Awesome," Abed replied, sounding sincerely pleased.

She headed for the door but turned to face Abed at the last moment. Surprising even herself, Annie pulled him into another hug. "I really had fun hanging out."

She felt Abed place a tentative hand on her back and give her a quick pat. "Yeah, Indiana Jones is the best." Annie smiled into her shoulders and she heard the words he was trying to say. _Thanks Annie. I'm glad we're friends._

She pulled away, unable to keep from grinning as pride over her new friendship filled her up to the brim. "See you on Monday," she told him brightly.

"See you Monday," he repeated, quietly closing the door.

* * *

_Please excuse the Phoebe/Chandler rant! I adored their friendship in the show and when Abed said that they didn't really have storylines together I yelled at my TV, "No, they TOTALLY did!"_


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you to all my readers! I love you guys! I am so sorry that this chapter is so short and that basically nothing happens but I'm in the middle of finals and wanted to get something out before they take over my life completely. After this chapter I'll be jumping ahead a bit to winter break and then the end of the group's first year, so more stuff will be happening. Anyway; this chapter takes place during episode 1x07 "Introduction to Statistics_

_You Said We Were Friends_

* * *

"We're not allowed to be up here you know."

Annie nearly jumped a foot in the air at the sound of Abed's voice and he worried for a moment that she would tip over the edge of the roof and fall from the top of their school library. But, thankfully, she fell backwards rather than forwards as she turned to see her intruder, clutching her chest.

"Oh my God, Abed! You scared the crap outta me!" She exclaimed loudly but without any real anger behind it.

"Sorry," he said sincerely, feeling a little guilty over scaring her so close to the edge of a roof. He moved closer and even in the dim light could see that she was a little flushed in the apples of her cheeks, though whether this was from the fright he had just given her or the spiked punch from the party he couldn't tell. He extended one of the bottles of beer he had grabbed and she looked at it skeptically before taking it daintily from him. She gestured for Abed to join her on the floor.

"And who are you to lecture me on being up here?" Annie responded teasingly with a gentle tug on his cape. "I saw you up here earlier when you were still Batman."

Abed smiled a little to himself at the mention of the Caped Crusader; it had been a pretty cool Halloween. Top five easy; which was saying a lot considering how much he enjoyed the holiday whose sole functions were dressing up in a costume and pretending to be another person. "Yeah but you're Annie," he answered, sitting down next to her, wiggling his feet a little as he watched them dangle over the edge. "Breaking the rules isn't really your thing."

She laughed at that and they both reached for their beer tops, opening them simultaneously with a muted snick of carbonation. Annie took a quick sip, still laughing a bit. "You know there was a week or so last year where you'd have been wrong about that," she whispered, almost to herself, into the bottle, her mood suddenly shifting from relaxed to somberly contemplative. Abed wasn't entirely sure of the appropriate response so he decided to keep his mouth shut, taking a deliberate swig of his cooling beer. Annie fiddled with the bottle label for a moment before shaking her head. Giving a hiccup-y sort of laugh, she shrugged off the odd mood, "It's silly."

"Is it?" Abed asked, genuinely curious to know more about Annie's origin story but savvy enough when it came to her to know that now wasn't the time to mention that sort of thing by name.

"Yeah," she said, turning her head slight and catching his gaze. "It feels like so long ago and I am too happy tonight to want to think about it," she told him bluntly.

Abed nodded, understanding her good humor at least. "It was a great night," he enthused, the genuine emotion he felt seeping into his tone.

Annie's smile widened at his words. "Wasn't it," she giggled back. Her eyes softened a bit in affection. "And thanks so much for helping me out with the decorations and the music and stuff. It was really awesome of you."

"Of course," Abed responded. He had come by after his film class, a few hours before the party, to help Annie set up the decorations. It had been just the two of them until around 7 when Shirley arrived with most of the snacks, at which point he had left the library and returned to his dorm to get into his costume.

"No really," Annie replied as she reached for his hand. "You helped me so much tonight; with being DJ and going to get Jeff when I was freaking out and then saving Pierce and Jeff from the collapsing fort." She squeezed his hand gently. "I don't know what I would have done without you."

He patted the hand the held his lightly. "It's what I do Annie," he told her simply. "I'm Batman," he added in a low approximation of Christian Bale's growl.

Annie chuckled and leaned her head gently against Abed's shoulder, telling him (with only the smallest amount of irony), "My hero."


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: I am so sorry that updates haven't really been coming lately but I am studying abroad right now so things won't be as regular for the next few months. However, I was able to work on fic during the flight so I have this chapter for you guys now. This is from Pierce's POV (weird I know) and it's based on episode 1x22 "The Art of Discourse", the scene where Pierce says he refers to Britta and Annie as "Flat-butt" and "The One Abed Wants to Nail". I think we all know Britta has a kind of flat butt so I wanted to write a scene showing why Pierce thinks Abed wants to nail Annie. This chapter takes place during the winter break from Season 1._

_Also, I want to thank all my reviewers. You guys mean the world to me and your reviews totally motivate me to write more!_

* * *

"You know, I'm starting to think that nobody actually wants me here."

"That's because nobody wants you here, Pierce," Troy yelled exasperatedly over the noise of the New Year's Eve party as the two tried to make their way through the crowded living room.

"Then why did you invite me?" Pierce whined to his younger friend, looking completely out of place at the party that was currently filled with high school and college students.

"I didn't," Troy carefully dodged an inebriated 20-year-old coed who was attempting to carry three drinks at once. "You got someone to hack into my Facebook to find out that I was going to a party, stalked us, and then acted senile and crazy to get in. Where in any of that did you get 'invited'?"

"Whatever," Pierce said as he threw up his arms (and his beer) into the air. "I'm going to find Ay-bed. At least he won't insult me." He turned and maneuvered himself in the opposite direction, accidentally bumping into practically everyone as he did so.

Walking away, Pierce missed Troy mutter, "Yeah, maybe to your face", before getting distracted by the hot brunette standing by the kitchen door.

Pierce stumbled through the party (the Internet said that this might actually be a "rager" or a "kickback", one of those two) and, secretly, began to regret his decision to follow his younger friends to their New Year's Eve party. He really wasn't having any fun and the only people he knew here seemed decidedly interested in avoiding him at all costs. Troy, when first catching a glimpse of him, had purposefully acted like he didn't know Pierce, while Annie and Abed (who apparently didn't know very many people at the party either) busied themselves with getting drinks from the kitchen.

Pierce was a lot of things but he wasn't exactly an idiot, he knew when he wasn't wanted. He just usually didn't care.

And now he was determined to find Abed. Looking around the room, he tried to spot dark skin, dark hair, and one of those stupid cardigans that the kid always seemed to be wearing. Out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw just the man. Pierce walked down the hall to the front room, stopping at the edge of the hallway as he spotted Abed approaching one of the plump couches. The noise was muted over in this part of the house and for a moment Pierce could actually hear himself think. He watched as Abed lowered himself to the couch, wondering why he came over here all by himself. Then a head appeared next to Abed's as it lifted itself up.

Annie.

Pierce watched as Annie gave Abed a smile, staying partially hidden in the shadows so he could spy on the two members of the study group.

"What are you doing over here?" Abed asked loud enough so that Pierce could hear his every word (even without Ear-noculars).

Annie shrugged sadly and Pierce couldn't tell from his hiding spot in the hallway but her eyes might have looked a little glassy. "I wasn't really having much fun in there".

Abed looked back towards the hallway and Pierce slunk back further into the shadows. "It's almost midnight," Abed said in a matter of fact tone. "You'll miss watching the ball drop on the television. It's traditional to enjoy it."

Annie laughed, "I don't think I'd enjoy it even if I watched it."

Pierce watched Abed's face as it took Annie in, attempting to understand the girl. Slowly, comprehension dawned on the younger man, "I get it. You are feeling unhappy because you have returned to the social group that views you as a crazy drug addict and it has brought back all the emotional trauma of high school."

Pierce didn't even need to see Annie's face to know she was rolling her eyes. "Basically, yeah." She sighed. "Most people here don't even know me! I went to school with some of them for more than seven years and they have no clue who I am," Annie's voice got angrier and more desperate as she continued, "And the people who do know me only remember me because I went a little crazy at high school." She sighed, "It's both embarrassing and depressing."

The two sat in contemplative silence for a moment and Pierce moved closer so he could hear better, this was getting interesting.

"Annie," Abed finally spoke. "I say this as an objective and unbiased observer but, based on the traditional scales, you are more attractive, will be more successful, and are a generally better person than 99.6% of the people currently attending this party." Pierce watched as Annie's face slowly unfolded into a smile. Abed continued, "The percentages might have been a little bit higher but I am pretty sure there is a Yale grad here whose IQ borders on genius level and a girl who I believe has been featured in a few magazines and whose height makes her considered more conventionally beautiful even if your shorter stature makes you more accessible." Abed paused, considering his words, "I have to say though you've got everyone here beat when it comes to being a good person."

Annie attempted to respond, still smiling widely, but at that moment a mummer rose up from the crowd in the other room as the clock neared closer to midnight. 30, 29, 28…

"Oh," Annie said dazedly. "It's almost midnight." Her previously happy expression faded as she lowered her head into her hands and repeated, "It's almost midnight and I've got no one to kiss."

Pierce watched as Abed's eyebrows crunched together in concern and confusion, his head tilting a little to the side. Annie let out another sigh, "This sucks." 10, 9, 8…

Pierced watched as Abed came to come kind of decision and the look of confusion melted away.

"Four, Three, Two, One. HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

And a blast of raucous noise swept over the house, nearly drowning out Abed. "Annie."

Annie popped her head up at the sound of her name and flicked her eyes upwards at her friend as he watched her. Then, without any indication of his intention at all, Abed leaned over slowly, carefully, and kissed Annie softly on her cheek. Pierce's eyes widened in surprise. 'Way to go Ay-bed,' he thought to himself.

Pierce saw as Annie's cheeks immediately reddened as her friend pulled back gently from the chaste kiss. She gaped at Abed, completely taken aback by his actions, and her mouth open and closed a little with the effort to form a response.

Abed noticed her expression and immediately a worried one of his own appeared. "That was inappropriate wasn't it?" He dropped his gaze to his hands, "I'm sorry."

His words seemed to snap her out of her surprise because she quickly shook her head and grabbed her friend's hand. "No, Abed it's fine. It was just-"

Suddenly another roar from the living room erupted and completely drowned out whatever Annie had been about to say. Pierce peered back down the hallway and saw Troy attempting what seemed to be a keg stand as the crowd chanted around him. "Troy! Troy! Troy! Troy!"

Pierce turned back around to continue observing his other two friends just in time to see Annie rise from the couch. She gave Abed a tender pat on the shoulder before making her way back towards the main rooms. Pierce, realizing he was going to be caught, raced back down the hall to the bathroom. Yet when Pierce reached the door the handle wouldn't budge. He knocked frantically which caused the current occupant to yell, "Fuck off!" rather loudly.

"Pierce!" Annie's yelled over the noise as she approached him. "What are you doing?"

Putting on his most innocent expression, he turned. "I need to go to the restroom and this a-hole is taking forever." He nervously played with his hands, hoping she bought his story.

"Oh," Annie replied, completely unaware that Pierce had been spying on her. "I think there is a bathroom down the hall and to the left." She pointed back where she had just come from, where he assumed Abed would still be.

Pierce nodded and stuttered, "Ahhh, yes. I'll just uh go there then, uh thanks Annie."

She gave him a strange look at his odd behavior. "Sure, no problem."

Not wanting to risk another minute with Annie, who he knew would be seriously pissed at him for eavesdropping as opposed to Abed who he was pretty sure wouldn't care, Pierce quickly brushed past the younger girl and headed down the hallway again.

Upon reaching the front room, Pierce found Abed casually perusing the knick-knacks that were set up as decorations. He paused to watch as Abed picked up a ceramic cat head (just the head, because apparently having a whole ceramic cat would have been tacky), wondering if he should say anything about what he just witnessed.

Pierce couldn't resist.

"Ay-bed! How's my favorite little Ay-rab?"

Abed turned at Pierce's voice, "I wouldn't know. I'm Muslim and Polish." He gently returned the cat head to the exact spot it had originally been in.

Pierce attempted to hold back his flush of temper. "It was a joke Ay-bed. I know you're Muslim."

"And Polish," Abed added.

"Yeah, yeah," Pierce waved offhandedly; he was starting to get annoyed by his conversation with Abed (as usual). "Anyway, how are you enjoying the party? Having fun?" Pierce tried to keep his voice light and free of innuendo but even he could tell he was failing.

"It's been alright, I've mostly been people watching," Abed said, not noticing or at least not commenting on Pierce's strange attitude.

Pierce chuckled to himself inwardly, 'Me too, Ay-bed. Me too'.

Outwardly he just nodded. "I just saw Annie in the hallway," his voice definitely held a note of innuendo, hell, it held a whole opera of innuendo. "Annie, she is quite a nice girl isn't she Abed?"

Abed head tilted as he took note of Pierce's behavior and he carefully responded. "Yes, Annie's kindness is one of her most prominent traits," Abed said in his most neutral tone.

"And you wanna nail her right," Pierce blurted out, unable to help himself.

Abed didn't say anything to his accusation though. Instead he simply stared at the older man, his face an emotionless wall. Pierce didn't let this deter him.

"Come on Abed. I know you wanna do Annie," he cajoled. "Just tell me and I can help you. Because, let's face it, you need all the help you can get."

Not a single muscle on Abed's face twitched as he continued to stare down Pierce.

"Abed," Pierce continued, feeling a little thrown by his friend's lack of response, "I will have you know that I am one of the best wingmen there is. I practically wrote the book on wingmanning and here I am, offering to help you get laid. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for guys like you."

"You were spying on me and Annie earlier," Abed finally spoke, both his face and voice still in a completely neutral tone.

Pierce sighed, "Alright Ay-bed. You caught me, I was spying. So sue me." He tried to get back on topic. "But now I'm going to help you. So really, you should be glad I was eavesdropping."

"Pierce, you cannot say anything about what you saw to the rest of the group," Abed said firmly. "It would skew the group dynamic and not for the better. What you just saw plays out better as a one-off background moment, any attempts to work it into the main storyline would be inadvisable."

"Screw you Abed!" Pierce yelled, immediately insulted by the younger man's tone of voice, "You can't tell me what to do!"

Abed shook his head slightly, saying under his breath, "I didn't want to have to do this." Louder, Abed continued, "Pierce, if you tell people then I will be forced to tell the group about what happened the day after Thanksgiving." He paused from dramatic effect. "Remember with that guy, Robbie, and the olives."

Pierce's eyes widened in fear and his mouth dropped open slightly. "You-you wouldn't Abed."

Abed's poker face was killer. "Would I?"

The two men stared viciously at each other as they sized the other up before Pierce finally looked away. "Fine!" Pierce cried in defeat, "But I'm you can't stop me from refering to Annie as "The One Abed Wants to Nail" in my head."

Abed nodded, his expression finally clearing to his more affable form of neutrality. "I can accept that."

* * *

_I know nothing like this probably happened but I like to pretend. Please review!_


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